BOOK XII. XIV. 29-xvii. 32 



wrinkles and colouring cither. Pcpper is adulterated 

 with junipcr berries, vvhicli absorb its pungency in a 

 remarkable manner, and in the matter of vveight 

 there are several vvays of adulterating it. 



XV. There is also in India a grain resembUng that of oiher indian 

 pepi')er, but larger and more brittle, called the caryo- '^^"' 

 phyllon,'' vvhich is reported to grow on the Indian 

 lotus-tree ; it is imported here for the sake of its 



scent. There is also a thorn-bush bearing an ex- 

 tremely bitter fruit that has a resemblance to pepper ; 

 this shrub has small thickly clustering leaves Hke the 

 cyprus^; the branches are 4 J feet long,the bark of a 

 pale colour, and the root vvide-spreading and vvoody, 

 of the coiour of box. This root boiled in vvater vvith 

 the seed in a copper vessel produces the medicinc 

 called lycion. The thorn in question also grovvs on 

 Mount PeHon, vvhere it is used for mixing vvith a 

 drug, as also are the root of the asphodel, ox-gall, 

 wormvvood, sumach and the lees of oHve oil. The 

 best lycion for medicinal purposes is the kind that 

 makes a froth ; this <" is imported from India in leather 

 bottles made of camel skin or rhinoceros hide. The 

 shrub itself is sometimes knovvn in Greece under the 

 name of Chiron's buckthorn. 



XVI. Another substance imported from India \s indianbaTk. 

 macir, the red bark ^ of the large root of a tree of the 



same name, which I have been unable to idcntify. 

 This bark boilcd with honey is considered in medicine 

 to be a valuabie specific for dysentery. 



XVII. Arabia also produces tabaschir, but that ' ^ugar: 

 grovvn in India is more esteemed. It is a kind of 

 honey that collects in reeds, vvhite like gum, and 

 brittle to the teeth; the largest pieces are the size 



of a filbert. It is only employed as a medicine. 



